4i4i AEOTTT SLIM A7S~D BERNAM. 



top. Here we saw a peculiar feature of the soil, which is so porous 

 that the streams running down the face of the hill all run under- 

 ground ; during a long day's march we did not see a drop of water 

 although constantly crossing water courses in which we frequently 

 heard the water running under our feet. In some of these water 

 courses the bed of the stream was marked by a succession of holes, 

 at irregular intervals, about six feet in diameter and nearly as much 

 deep, where the underground streams had made caves and the su- 

 perincumbent earth had fallen in. 



We encamped on Griinong Sandor for one night, near a SaJcei 

 clearing, and here we saw a very ingenious arrangement by which 

 they got water ; they got large bamboos which they split and 

 removed the obstacles at the joints, they then shoved these shoots 

 into the side of the hill in a nearly horizontal direction till they 

 reached the water bearing strata when the water trickled from the 

 end of the bamboo in abundance for drinking ; bathing was a 

 tedious operation. 



After leaving GrCinong Sandor to our East we got into the valley 

 of the Bid or river, where we had more delay in getting fresh guides. 

 I was particularly struck by the marked falling off of the Saksis&s 

 we advanced West. To the East they are taller, more robust and 

 fairer than the average Malay, but as we got West, towards the rivers 

 Bidor and Batang Padang, they degenerated very rapidly, becoming 

 smaller and darker than the Malay. The idea conveyed to my mind 

 from the appearance of the people in the different places was that 

 the Slim Sakeis were a well-fed, healthy race, whereas the Bidor 

 and Batang Padang Sakeis had a miserable half-starved appearance. 



By the time we got into the Bidor valley and got guides, we 

 found that, in consequence of the unavoidable delays and damage 

 through rain, our supply of rice was nearly finished, and there 

 was scarcely anything else left ; the time I had originally proposed 

 to be away had already been exceeded, and most of the party had 

 had very nearly enough of camping out in the wet, and some of 

 them showed unmistakable signs of breaking down; I therefore deter- 

 mined that the shortest road back was the best ; in consequence of 

 this we were unable to visit any of the hills at the sources of the 

 Bidor and Batang Padang, only skirting along the lower slopes of 

 tho,ie hills at elevations of less than 1,000 feet, In the hills in 



